Wait for It

by Mariana Zapata

“He’s not going to kill us or anything, right?” I asked. Dallas blew out a breath as the corners of his mouth bunched into a frown. “I’d never let that happen,” he stated so evenly, so matter-of-fact, this ripple of who-the-hell-knows-what shot up the nerves of my spine.

Real love was gritty. The real kind of love never quit. Someone who loved you would do what’s best for you; they’d stand up for you and sacrifice. Someone who loved you would face any inconvenience willingly. You didn’t know what love was until someone was willing to give up what they loved the most for you.

“I don’t want you to go anywhere if that means anything, Peach.”

The smile that came over Dallas’s face as he took us in was genuine.

You don’t know anything about love if you aren’t willing to wait for it.

“She wouldn’t be my first, but she’d be the only one who ever mattered. I think she could wait for the time to be right. I’d make sure she never regretted it.”

He was shaking. “Tell me what his name is, and I’ll put him six feet in the ground.”

You can’t always wait for someone else to do the right thing when you can do it yourself.”

“If something had happened to you—” I choked. Me? He’d been worried about me too?

His fingers went to my chin, cupping it as he looked directly into my eyes. “If something happened to you, I wouldn’t be okay. I would never be okay,” he practically hissed.

The sigh that came out of him wasn’t even a slight warning for the hands that came to my shoulders and gave them a squeeze. It didn’t prepare me for the arms that went around them afterward, or the chest that came in contact with my forehead. He’d hugged me the night before, hadn’t he? I hadn’t imagined it? His voice wasn’t any less rough or mean as he said, “You scared the hell out of all of us.”

“Can I have a hug too?” Dallas’s arms flexed and I swore I heard him laugh lightly before one of them dropped from around me as he took a step back. “Have at her, buddy.” It was then I finally glanced down at Louie to find he’d moved to stand beside my hip. The kid blinked and edged closer between us. “No, you too,” he said so effortlessly it made me want to cry. “Sandwich.” Just like that, Dallas crouched and scooped Louie up. One of those little arms went around my neck, and I would bet my life the other was around Dallas’s. The only other thing I knew for sure was that an arm too brawny to belong to a five-year-old wrapped low around my back. The side of my head went to a shoulder and one half of my chest was crushed against a much harder one. “This is nice,” Louie muttered somewhere close to my ear.

I was crazy in love with this motherfucker. I really, really was.

And, as if he could read my mind, the arms around me tightened and he hugged me like… I wasn’t sure what. Like he’d missed me. Like he didn’t want to let me go, now or ever. Like he felt the same thing for me that I felt for him.

“I like your cap,” I told him honestly. The emerald green made his hazel eyes pop like crazy. Plus, it was just fucking cute. “Did Miss Pearl make it for you?” “I made it,” he said with a twist to his mouth. “She taught me how.” The stupid smile that came over my face had me staring at him in awe. I even slapped my hand right over the left side of my chest. “Are you real?” Dallas tapped my chin. “I’ll knit you one, Peach.”

He reached up toward me and brushed the backs of his fingers over my cheek, still smiling wide, and pinched my chin. “You’re fucking nuts.” All I did was shrug again. “You know that, but you’re still here, aren’t you?”

His smile melted into a smaller one, and the deep breath he let out made it seem like it had weighed a thousand pounds. Then his fingers brushed over my cheek again, and Dallas moved to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. His voice was soft. “I’m still here, Peach.”

“Being your friend has been the hardest fucking thing I’ve ever had to do.”

“I love the way you kiss,” he whispered when he drew his mouth away from mine just an inch. I said it. I told him. “I like everything about you.” Because it was the truth.

A big hand reached out to wrap its fingers around my wrist, and he pulled on it gently. “How can I miss you so much when I just saw you yesterday?”

“I’m your poor bastard and you know it.”

“Yes buts. You can love me, but that doesn’t have to mean anything, Dallas. What do you want from me?” “Everything.”

The corners of his mouth curled slightly, and I’d swear on my life he looked just a little nervous. Just a little. “I want you. I want your smile. Your hugs. Your love. I want your happiness.” He paused. “Every single thing.”

“You know I’m crazy.” “You’re my best friend. I know you’re crazy.”

I’ve made a lot of decisions in my life I’ve regretted, but you will never be one of them.

I won’t break your heart, Diana. I’ve never been scared to work for things or wait for them. I know you, and I know that you’re it. I just had to wait to get divorced so I could do this right for you. Life is so fucking short, Peach, and I’m too old to not know and go for what I want. And you know what I want. What I’ve wanted. For a long, long time.” He paused. “You.”

“There’s my one and only.”

You three feel like my family. It isn’t every day you look at your friend and two kids and know this is where you were supposed to be.

“I always thought you looked like mine, but you sure do fucking feel like you’re mine, too,”

“You couldn’t feel more like mine if you tried,”

you looked up at me while we were laughing and I knew I was done,”

“Diana, I love you, and every bone in my body tells me that I’m gonna love you every day of my life, even when we want to kill each other.”